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The Museum’s Collections document the fate of Holocaust victims, survivors, rescuers, liberators, and others through artifacts, documents, photos, films, books, personal stories, and more. Search below to view digital records and find material that you can access at our library and at the Shapell Center.

Oral history interview with Constantin Romanescu

Constantin Romanescu, born in 1926 in Romania, describes his family; prewar relations between local Jews and non-Jews; the pogrom in Dorohoi in 1940; details of looting and mass murders; the Romanian military bringing order to the city; restrictions placed upon the Jewish community; the occupation of Dorohoi by German soldiers at the beginning of the war; hearing stories from Polish refugees about atrocities committed by German forces; the declaration of war at Piatra Neamt; the sight of a burial pit; a mass shooting of Jews in Haţeg; his father's assistance to many Jewish people; the deportation of the Jews of Dorohoi; the return of local Jews after the war; and receiving threats after the war when he offered to testify about wartime events.

This is a witness interview of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's Perpetrators, Collaborators, and Witnesses: The Jeff and Toby Herr Testimony Initiative, a multi-year project to record the testimonies of non-Jewish witnesses to the Holocaust. The interview was directed and supervised by Nathan Beyrak. The interview was received by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives Branch in May 2005.

Funding Note

The production of this interview was made possible by Jeff and Toby Herr.

Also in Oral history interviews of the Romania Documentation Project

Anghelina Ionutas, born in 1920 in Treznea, Romania, describes the prewar Jewish community of Treznea; the Treznea massacre; local townspeople burying victims' corpses; hearing about the mass murder of the area's Jews; the murder of the local priest; Hungarian soldiers murdering elderly civilians; the cemeterties of the village; a roundup and deportation of Jews in 1944 by Nazi forces and collaborators; the response of local Romanians to the deportation of local Jews; the return of two Jewish boys to Treznea in 1944; local townspeople killing Nazis who attempted to escape through their village in 1944; and the arrival of Soviet forces.

Maria Blaj, born in 1930 in Treznea, Romania, describes her family; the prewar Jewish community of Treznea; the invasion of Hungarian forces in 1940; the Treznea massacre; local townspeople burying the bodies of victims; the sight of a convoy of Jews; the death of her father; the reasoning behind the Hungarian soldiers attacking her village; and German soldiers deporting local Jews in 1944.

Aurel Sālājan, born in 1930 in Romania, describes the arrival of Hungarian forces in his village; the Hungarian soldiers attacking civilians and committing arson; Hungarian soldiers shooting his mother and younger brother; his father assisting in the burial of the victims; the deportation of a Jewish family from his village in 1944; and the living conditions for the Jews in Zalău.

Ambrozie Bârjac, born in 1927 in Treznea, Romania, describes the Treznea massacre; local townspeople gathering and burying the bodies of those killed by Hungarian soldiers; and the deportation of local Jewish families in 1944.

Gavril Butcovan, born in Ip, Romania, describes the reassignment of Transylvania to Hungary; the circumstances under which the Hungarian forces entered Ip; the organization of the mass murder of Romanian civilians; murders committed by the Hungarian soldiers; the deaths of many of his family members; Hungarian townspeople and local Roma gathering the corpses; participating in pre-military training; the deportation of local Jews in 1944 to Şimleu; and the poor treatment of local townspeople by policemen and soldiers.

Ioan Pernes, born in 1915 in Treznea, Romania, describes the transfer of Transylvania from Romania to Hungary; the Treznea massacre by Hungarian soldiers, including the death of the village priest and arson committed by soldiers; the burying of the dead; his recruitment into the Hungarian Army in 1942; his service on the Eastern Front; his discharge in 1943 as a result of being wounded; his duties as a soldier; the duties of battalions of Jewish workers; and the roundup and deportation of Jews in 1944 in Transylvania.

Spiridon Tataru, born in Hotin, Romania (present day Khotyn, Ukraine), describes the his family; the prewar Jewish community of Hotin; his father's Jewish colleague; his time as a sailor; the beginning of the war; his imprisonment by the Soviets in 1941; the expulsion of the Jews of Hotin to the ghetto in Cernăuţi (Chernivtsi, Ukraine); assisting in the rescue of a young Jewish girl from the ghetto; visiting the ghetto and seeing dead bodies there; the bombing of Bucharest, Romania; assisting a Jewish family escape to England; the destruction of the synagogue in Hotin; and his thoughts regarding the Holocaust.

Lucian Bârsan, born in 1932 in Giurgiu, Romania, describes the rebellion in Bucharest at the beginning of the war; the arrival of the German Army in Bucharest, Romania in 1941; seeing along the road a large number of Jews who had been killed by members of the Iron Guard; hearing that the corpses had been looted by local Roma; and the flooding of Giurgiu in 1942 and his evacuation to Bucharest.

Aurel Giurcā, born in 1927 in Călăraşi, Romania, describes the persecution of the Jewish community by local townspeople, which included cruelties and theft of Jewish owned belongings; the local townspeople, including his family, who maintained positive relationships with the Jewish community; hiding several Jewish families in his basement during the war; the sight of a train full of Jews, many already dead or dying; his father and other local townspeople who attempted to assist the surviving Jews; the disapproval of local townspeople of the Iron Guard; the trial of members of the Iron Guard after the war; and his profession as an attorney.

Constantin Roșu, born in 1930 in Bucharest, Romania, describes the prewar actions of members of the Iron Guard, including their pressure on his father to join them and the beating of those who did not support the movement; the diversity of the students in his class; anti-Jewish actions committed by a priest; the Bucharest pogrom; including the murder of local Jews and the looting of Jewish-owned stores; townspeople who looted the stores and the bodies of the victims; the disappearance of his Jewish classmates in 1941; hearing about a mass shooting of Jews by German soldiers; and German forces sinking ships carrying Jews to Palestine.

Ioan Butcovan, born in Ip, Romania, describes his family; the invasion of the Hungarian Army and its actions against Romanian civilians in 1940; his escape along with some family members from Hungarian soldiers; the burial of the dead; and the lack of punishment for the Hungarian soldiers after the war.

Grigore Traian Pāstrāvanu, born in 1941 in Iaşi, Romania, describes his family; his work in a military institution; the professions of Jewish employees there; his family's role in hiding Jews during the Iaşi pogrom; the sight of corpses on the road; the clearing of the corpses from the street; the looting of Jewish owned homes by local townspeople; and his father's career advancements.

Aglia Cozma, born in Romania, describes details of the Iaşi pogrom; the disposal of victims' bodies; local townspeople looting Jewish owned homes; the aftermath of the pogrom; restrictions placed upon the Jewish community; the harsh treatment of the Jewish community during the war; and the desecration of the Jewish cemetery.

Gheorghe Vancea, born in 1931 in Nanesti, Romania, describes the prewar Jewish community of Nanesti; antisemitic propaganda spread by the Iron Guard; the roundup of local Jews by Hungarian soldiers and their deportation to the ghetto in Sighetul Marmatiei in 1944; the ghetto in Sighetul Marmatiei; the looting of Jewish owned homes by local townspeople; the retreat of Axis forces in 1944 and 1945; and several local Jewish boys who survived the Holocaust and returned to Nanesti.

Gleb Ciudacov, born in 1918 in Tighina, Romania, describes living in Hîncești; fleeing to Germany in 1940 and then returning to Hînceşti in 1941; the Jewish community in Hîncești; the mass shooting of Jews by Romanian soldiers, assisted by local townspeople; the looting of Jewish owned homes by local townspeople; the mayor organizing the disposal of the corpses and cleaning of the houses; his thoughts on the Romanian soldiers who committed the murders; and the antisemitic atmosphere of the town.

Ana Dediu, born in 1912 in Costesti, Romania, describes her education; her Jewish friends; attempts by the Iron Guard to recruit her; getting married and taking refuge in Stoeneşti, Romania; witnessing a train transporting Jews from Iaşi, Romania; the responsibility of Iron Guard members in the suffering of Romanian Jews; and an exhibit about the train which she saw carrying deported Jews.

Learn about over 1,000 camps and ghettos in Volume I and II of this encyclopedia, which are available as a free PDF download. This reference provides text, photographs, charts, maps, and extensive indexes.